Nick Cafardo's Red Sox-Angels ALDS breakdown

Starting pitching continued

Joe Saunders, a 17-game winner who went 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA in September, could give the Sox the most trouble. Of the Angels' top three starters, he had the sharpest playoff tuneup, tossing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts Sunday. Ervin Santana (pictured) has a 6.17 ERA in three postseason appearances, and he earned just five of his 16 wins this season at home. It's imperative for Matsuzaka not to slip into his familiar pattern of putting runners on. The Angels dealt him one of his three losses this season, tagging him for six runs in five-plus innings July 28 at Fenway. Angels starters led the majors with 73 wins and averaged 6.1 innings per start, second in the majors.Edge: LOS ANGELES